Fire-escape



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S-YSTEWART. FIRE ESCAPE, EIREMANS LADDER, AND HOSE ELEVATOR. N0.393,038. Patented Nov. 20, 1888.

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FIRE ESCAPE, FIREMANS LADDER, AND HOSE ELEVATOR. No. 393,038. T.

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" ATENT SAMUEL STEWART, OF NENVARK, NEW JERSEY.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 393,038, dated November 20, 1888.

Application filed August 16, 1888. Serial No. 282,900. (No model.)

To all whom, it 11mg concern.-

Be it known that I, SAMUEL STEWART, a citizen of the United States, residing at Newark, Essex county, New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in a Combined Fire-Escape, Firemans Ladder, and HoseElevator, fully described and represented in the following specification, and the accompanying drawings,forming a part of the same.

The object of this invention is to furnish in a single apparatus a combined means forsustaining and applying a rope ladder to any point upon the outside of a building, and for sustaining a fireman and elevating a hose to any height or point upon the exterior of the building. These objects are effected by providing one or more guide-rails around the upper part of the building and mounting thereon a carriage sustaining an axle upon which a rope ladder may be wound, the axle being provided with one or more sheave-pulleys by which the axle may be turned and the ladder wound or unwound, and by which a rope may be hoisted to the top of a building, carrying with it a hose to any desired height. The wheels of the carriage when sustained upon the elevated track would permit the carriage with the sustained ladder to move across the outside of the building, so that the ladder may be applied to any point upon its surface.

The invention will be understood by reference to the annexed drawings, in which- Figure l is a front elevation of a building provided with my improvement. Fig. 2 is an elevation, upon a larger scale,of a section of the track and the fixtures attached thereto. Fig.

- 3 is a section of the wall of the building with corner.

the track and the fixtures in section on line 00 m in Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a plan of one corner of the building with the track curved around the same and the fixtures applied thereto at the Fig. 5is a plan of the carriageshown in Fig. 2, including the hangers and supporting-wheels; and Fig. 6 is a plan of the axle bearing with the axle and the parts fixed there on. Fig. 7 is a front elevation of a section of the ladder upon a larger scale, and Fig. 8 is a plan or top view of one of the sockets upon a larger scale, with a portion of one of the rounds.

A is the front of thebuilding, provided with doors B and windows 0.

Dis the cornice of the building,aud immediately below the same are fixed two parallel rails,e, sustained one above the other by brackets f. The rails are shown ofround section and fixed to the brackets only at their outer sides, so that the inner surfacesare free to receive the wheels 9 of the ladder-carriage. The pivots of the wheels are connected upon their rear side by links h, hinged at their middle and jointed by a vertical pin, 13, and the outer ends of the pivots arejoined to hangers j, the lower ends of which are extended into sockets in in the axle-bearings Z.

The bearings are designed to carry the axle or drum m,upon which the ladder n a may be wound,and the axle is fitted loosely to the bearings, so that the bearings may move endwise a little upon the axle when the carriage turns around the corner of the building, as shown in Fig. 4. Then the carriage is in such'position, the sockets 7:: turn upon the lower ends of the hangersj, so that the bearings may remain in line with the axle, while the wheels and their links h assume various angles to one another, as required in passing the curve of the track. The axle is provided with flanges 0, between which the ladder is wound, the upper end of the ladder-ropes a being attached to the axle. A sheave, p, is shown at one end of the axle to which an endless rope, 1), part of which is shown in Fig. 3, would be applied, and such rope, as shown in Fig. 1, would be extended down within reach of an operator at the lower part of the building or ground, so that the ladder may be lowered, as desired. When wound up, the ladder with its carriage could be run beneath a small shed or roof,S, provided above the track 6, and thus be protected from the weather when not in use.

The sheave would be securely fastened to the axle; but a sheave, q, is shown fitted to turn loosely upon the opposite end of the axle and held in place by pins 1. By providing such loose sheave with an endless rope, t, and fixing a hook or rope at some point on such rope, a hose may be readily hoisted to any height upon the front of the building by attaching it to such loop and pulling upon the opposite side of the rope. In Fig. 1 a hose, H, is shown thus hooked upon the rope and elevated to the level of the upper tier of windows.

Any form of rope ladder may be used; but Figs. 7 and 8 show a construction suitable for the use of wire rope, the side ropes, a, being joined to the rounds n by malleable iron Ts formed in halves and clamped tightly upon the ropes by rivets a".

It is obvious that with my construction the ladder constitutes not only aiirc-escape when operated by the inmates of the building, but that it may be used independently ofsuch inmates by firemen upon the outside of the building, the ladder being readily lowered by operating the endless rope p, and the carriage shifted to any point upon the rails c by pulling the bottom of the ladder sidewise. The ladder will thus serve as a firemans ladder to give access to any point upon the outside of the building, and ahose may by the aid of the rope t and sheave q be hoisted and sustained in proximity to a fireman upon such ladder. and thus greatly facilitate the application of the water from the hose through the windows.

It is obvious that a loop could be provided upon the rope p and the latter used to hoist a .hose, if the ladder were not required for use; but the loose sheave q is provided, that the hose may be hoisted without turning the axle or drum upon which the rope ladder is wound, and the ladder may thus be lowered and operate to sustain a fireman while the hose is being hoisted.

No means is provided for holding the ladder in a partially-lowered state,as there would be no object in holding it in such position, and it would not require securing when wholly wound up, as it could be readily turned into a position where the axle would remain stationary.

It is obvious that the hoisting-rope 10 may readily be secured to a cleat upon the lower Having thus set-forth my invention, what I.

claim is- 1. The combination, witha horizontal track upon the exterior of a building, of a carriage provided with an axle, arope ladder attached to such axle, a sheave fixed to the axle, and an endless rope extended to the lower part of the building for rotating the axle, substantially as herein set forth.

2. The combination, with a curved horizontal track fixed upon the exterior of a building, of wheels adapted to run upon such track and connected by jointed links, hanger-rods sustained by the wheels, bearings pivoted upon the lower ends of the hangers, and an axle fixed in such bearings and having a rope ladder wound thereon,substantially as herein setforth.

3. The combined fire-escape, firemans ladder, and hose-elevator, consisting in a horizontal track fixed upon the exterior ofa building, a carriage movable upon such track, an axle with ropeladder wound thereon mounted upon such carriagaasheave fixed upon the axle with endless rope to wind up the ladder,and a loose sheave mounted upon the axle and an endless rope fitted to such loose sheave for hoisting a hose to any height upon the building, substantially as set forth.

In testimony whereof l have hereunto set my hand in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

SAMUEL ST lWAR'[.

\Vitnesses:

Trros. S. CRANE, L. 

